At a taxpayer cost of about $5,000 per student (the low-income students in the program pay nothing), Upward Bound transports students to 17 Iowa college campuses, as well as numerous other schools throughout the country, for six-week stays. They are given room and board, school supplies and books.

High school teachers lead courses in laboratory science, math, foreign languages, English composition and electives. Students can take classes for college credit. The program also prepares students to apply for college and offers tips on financial aid. Then there are follow-ups throughout the school year.

Upward Bound focuses on students with at least a 2.0 high school grade point average and who are from a family that's either low-income or with parents who didn't attend college - or both.